


Journey through Ireland

by lilymcenvy



Category: Celtic Thunder (Band)
Genre: F/M, Ireland, Traveling, fashion - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-26
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-04-06 06:33:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4211742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilymcenvy/pseuds/lilymcenvy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She left. Just like that. She left her home, her country. She left everything... To find something new.<br/>To find herself again.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Runnin' Over Bridges

**To lose my inhibitions**   
**In places I can't be found**   
**And use this intermission**   
**to turn this two act life I'm living right around**   
  


She's lying on the grass by the road, her eyes are closed, tons of thoughts on her mind. Sun's shining like crazy today. It's one of those few warmer days she's had while traveling through Ireland. She can't believe it's been already one whole month since she left home, jumped on the first plane with just a backpack and her longboard and flew across the Europe to this amazing country. She wanted an adventure. She wanted to discover new places, meet new people. She wanted a change. No, she needed a change. Yeah, she just needed to run away for some time. And she did! She left everything to find something new.

The past month was indescribable. She still can't believe that this is her life now... She tries to enjoy every single moment. But sometimes... It's just so hard. Her past and some quite recent memories are still haunting her. She thought that by leaving home and going somewhere nobody knows her it would just disappear. But it doesn't work that way. It's not that simple. Maybe it just needs more time. But, well... She's not going back home quite yet. No. There's still so many places in this country she wants to see. And maybe at one of those places she finally finds that SOMETHING she's looking for. Though she has no idea what that something is.

She opens her eyes and pushes herself up on her elbows. She looks down the road in direction she is heading and sighs. Still quite a lot of miles ahaed before she'll reach her today's destination. She should hurry, it's quite late in the afternoon and she doesn't want to sleep out in the open. Not again.

She opens her backpack, grabs the map and studies it for a while. Then she points her finger on a little dot. The Moy, the village she's heading to. And out of nowhere there is a song on her mind - The village that they call The Moy, by her favorite singer Ryan Kelly. She smiles for herself and finds her iPhone and headphones in the backpack. In a second she's already listening to his music. Then she takes a piece of cardboard she was saving for this moment and with a black marker she writes down the name of the village, just in case somebody would pass by. But she doesn't count on that, she hasn't seen any car for a whole day.

Then she stands up, puts everything in the backpack except her iPhone and a piece of cardboard which she pinnes to her backpack so any car passing by would know where she's heading. Then she puts the phone to the pocket of her denim shorts and jumps on her longboard and is on her way.

The road's been kind to her today, smooth surface, no cars. She's really enjoying the ride. On lonely road like this she can really afford having headphones with loud music in her ears and actually enjoying the scenery around her. Though it's just fields around for now, she still finds it beautiful.

She rides maybe for half an hour when out of the blue there's a loud noice of car horn she can hear even through the music and before she can turn her head there's a car passing by in crazy speed and then stopping quickly just a few meters in front of her. She's forced to stop quickly too and well... It's not as easy on a longboard as it is in a car so she almost falls over. And it makes her so angry. "What a crazy asshole!" she whispers for herself, picks up the board, takes the headphones off and quickly aproaches the car.

"Are you fucking crazy, man?! Did you want to kill me or what?!" she yells before she even looks into the car through the open window.

"Oh," is all she manages to say when she sees the driver.

"Hello there," Ryan Kelly is smiling at her and looks like he's really sorry about what just happened, "Are you okay? I really didn't mean to hurt you. I hadn't expected to meet anyone on this road so I wasn't really paying much attention. I'm so so sorry, darlin'. It's totally my fault. Are you okay? Oh, god, please tell me you're okay!" he lookes so nervous and scared.

But all she can do is... Laugh. Though she needs to lean onto the car as her knees are shaking. She doesn't really know if it's because she could end up pretty badly if she felt (she was speeding too after all) or because she just met Ryan Kelly.

"Oh, man, you scared the shit out of me," she says when she finally catches her breath, "But apart from that I think I'm okay. Or at least I will be when my heart stops beating so fast," she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath so she can calm down.

"Oh, god, don't tell me I gave you a heart attack!"

And she laughs again: "Don't think so."

When she opens her eyes again she can see he doesn't look so scared anymore. She gives him a reassuring smile.

"So you're heading for Moy?" he asks her.

"Yep," she nods.

"It's still quite far from here and it's getting dark," he looks worried.

"No need to tell me that, hon'! I can see that," then she realises what she just said and feels the embarrassment getting warmer on her cheeks. But before it can get awkward he gives her one of his adorable smiles and with a little nod he says: "C'mon, darlin', I give you a ride."

"Oh, really?! That would be great, man!"

"Yeah, just put your things on the backseat and jump in." She does as he says.

"And by the way," he smiles when she shots the door behind her, "I like hon' more than man!"

"'Kay," she smiles too and prays that her cheeks aren't too red.

When the car starts moving again she finally gets to stop the music on her phone.

"What were you listening to?" Ryan asks.

"Oh, well... You," she smiles.

"Really? Huh, what a great taste you've got there!"

"I know, right?!" They both laugh.

"So... You're visiting someone in Moy?" he asks.

"Not really."

"Oh," he seems comfused, "Why are you going there then?"

She shrugs: "Dunno, really. Just wanted to know what the song is about, I guess."

Ryan laughs: "That's a good reason, I'd say."

"I think so too. And... Well, do you happen to know any good place to stay at? I'm really kinda tired of sleeping by the road."

He hesitates for a second. By that moment she already knows she shouldn't have said that but well... Too late to take it back.

"Well," he starts, "I don't really know any good place, but..."

"But what?" she asks with a little smile.

"I've got one spare room in my house."

"Oh," she didn't expect that.

"And you know... I almost killed you, I should make it up to you."

She laughs: "You didn't almost kill me, c'mon! It was far from that. I would have few bruises, couple of scratches, maybe a broken bone in the worst case scenario."

"That counts as almost killed for me," he laughs too but then gets serious: "No, but really, darlin'. I think I have to insist you stay at my place. How long do you plan on staying in the village?"

She shrugs again: "No idea. I don't even know where I'm heading after that."

He looks at her for a second. And again she immediately regrets saying that.

"Where do you come from?" he asks.

"Czech Republic," she whispers and looks out from the window.

"How come you're here?" he shoots another question.

"I'm just traveling."

"Alone?"

"Yep. Just me and my longboard."

"When are you coming back home?"

"Dunno."

Then it's quiet for a few minutes. She tries so hard not to cry.

"Can we please talk about something... else?" she says after taking a deep breath to pull herself together.

"Sure. Of course. Oh, well... I still don't know your name," he smiles.

"In Ireland I go by Lily."

"And what does that suppose to mean?" he laughs.

"Well my real name was a little difficult to pronounce or even understand for some people here so I go by my internet name," she smiles.

"Does it mean your internet name is Lily... McEnvy?"

"Oh... I'm probably gonna regret asking but how do you know that?"

"'Cause you wrote one hell of an amazing review of my album."

"You read that?"

"You bet I did. I still do... When I'm in a bad mood sometimes. It just makes me so happy. It is one of the best reviews of my music I've ever receive."

"But you know I wrote it like maybe two years ago?"

"Yeah I do. That just means that you make me happy for two years already."

"And you know that it's just super wierd what you just said?"

"Yep, I just realised." They exchange looks and they both start laughing.

"Anyway," he says then, "I still wanna know your real name."

"Huh, maybe I'll tell you... later," she smiles.

"I'll take that."

By that time they already can see houses on the horizon.

"How long have you been in Ireland already?" he asks.

"A month."

And he really doesn't know what to say to that. So they're quiet for a while.

Then out of nowhere there's a huge smile on his face: "Welcome to The Moy, darlin'" he says as they reach the village. And she smiles too. She's so happy at that moment.

After few minutes Ryan's stopping the car in front one of the houses. It's not big but it looks really nice. It's just one of those tipical Irish houses, small, two-storey, white with a black roof, wooden door with a little roof above it, looks cosy even just from outside. It just looks like a real home.

They both get out of the car and Lily takes her stuff from the backseat.

"C'mon, Lil', I'll show you the house," he points to the front door.

"'Kay," she says and follows him inside.

She looks around the hall and she immediately loves it there. Wooden furniture, tons of pictures on the wall... It's like she just steps into her dream house.

She puts her backpack and longboard down and takes off her shoes as Ryan just does the same with his. And by that time there's already a four-legged ball of fur running around both of them.

"Oh, hello baby boy," Ryan laughs and picks Larry up to kiss him.

"Oh god, he's so cute!" Lily says as she pets him. And Larry almost jumps out of Ryan's arms to hers. She laughs and takes him from Ryan. Larry's already licking her face like crazy and he's just adorable.

"I think he likes you," Ryan laughs.

"You think?" she says as she kisses Larry on his head.

"C'mon, I'll show you 'round," he says and she puts Larry down and follows him.

He gives her a quick tour of the first floor where's basically just kitchen and huge living room. Then they head upstairs.

"Okay. So over there is my bedroom," he points at one closed door, "Next to it is my home office and over here... It's gonna be your room," he smiles and they go inside. It's not a big room, it's quite simply furnitured but it's beautiful and really cosy. There's a huge window with a view to the small backyard so the room is full of light of the sunset. Then there's a big bed with a night stand by each side, one chair in the corner with a little coffee table and a cabinet. On the right there's an open door leading to a small bathroom.

"I know it's not much but at least you've got a roof over your head," Ryan says.

"You kiddin'? It's amazing! I love it!" she smiles and walks over to the window to look outside. He follows her and they stand there quietly for a minute.

Ryan then breaks the silence: "Alright then. I think I'm gonna go to fix us something for dinner," he smiles.

"Need help?" she asks.

He shakes his head: "No, I'll manage. Just relax a bit."

She nods: "I think I'm gonna get my stuff from the hall and then I'm gonna take a shower if it's okay?"

"Of course it is," he laughs, "I'll come to get you when dinner is ready," he says as he heads for the door.

"And Ryan?" she says before he can disappear in the hallway.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you," she gives him one of her best smiles.

"You're very welcome, darlin'," and he's gone.

In a few minutes Lily's already in the shower enjoying hot water. It's a nice change to wash herself in a real shower, in a real bathroom, after some time. Her last week was kind of wild. She usually slept outside, under the sky or under any roof she could have found when it was raining, and washed herself in a river or a lake or whatever she came across. So yeah, she was really gratefull for a shower with hot water.

It takes Ryan maybe an hour to make a meal for two and when everything is almost ready he goes to the bottom of the stairs and calls Lily. Then he gets back to the kitchen to make everything ready for them to eat. When there's still no sign of Lily after he does that, he heads upstairs to her room.

He knocks on the door but there's no response. He slowly opens the door and comes in. She's on the bed, lying on her back with one arm over her face and headphones in her ears. That's why she didn't hear him. He smiles for himself.

But then he realises... She's crying. And his smile drops. He hesitates. He's confused. What's going on? What happened? Should he leave?   
No, that's just not like him.

So he slowly aproaches the bed and gently touches Lily's shoulder.

She jumps up and quickly sits up on the bed: "Oh, god, Ry!" she whispers and tries to hide her face so she can dry her tears. She just doesn't want him to see her like that - all teary and... broken.

"Hey, hey, Lil', it's okay, I don't mind your tears," he whispers and holds both of her hands as he sits down on the edge of the bed. She shakes her head but still keeps it down and doesn't say a word. 

"What's going on?" he asks softly, takes her chin and lifts her head up so he can see her face.

She looks at him with eyes filled with tears and tries to give him a smile. She fails at that.

He runs his thumb across her cheek to wipe away one tear: "Don't worry, darlin'. Just tell me."

She takes a deep breath to be able to speak: "I..." her voice breaks. She feels another rush of tears and turns her head towards the window. Ryan just waits.

After a little while she looks back at him: "I just miss my parents," she says.

"So... Why don't you go back home then?" he asks and seems a little confused.

She shakes her head: "You don't get it... They... They died."

"Oh... I'm... I'm so sorry."

"That's why I'm here... I just... Ran away... Right after the funeral, basically. I just couldn't face it. But... Sometimes... Like right now. I feel like the worst person ever... For leaving my brother and grandparents to all of that. But I just... I was just too weak to deal with it, I guess..."

"Don't say that! You're so brave! You just... Everyone has their own ways how to deal with something like that."

"Yeah... But my way is just so selfish!"

"It's not!"

"No?" she gives him a look filled with hope.

He's quiet for a moment and then he says: "Let me ask you something... How did you feel after your first day in Ireland?"

She thinks for a while and then she smiles a little: "Happy... Really happy. And proud of myself," her smile becomes even bigger.

"See! And I think that's what your parents would want. For you to be happy. Don't you think?"

"I guess."

"Okay. So don't you think for even a minute that you're weak. You're not. Truth is you're the bravest girl... Bravest person I've ever met. Your parents would be so proud of you!"

She smiles though she feels more tears coming down her cheeks.

"Please, stop crying, Lil'. It's breaking my heart."

"Petra," she whispers.

"Sorry, what?"

"Petra... Is my real name," she repeats louder.

"Petra, what a lovely name!" he smiles and she does too, for real this time.

"C'mon, Pet, dinner's ready, let's eat!" he gets up and reaches his hand to her.

She laughs because nobody has ever called her like that and she really likes it. Then she takes his hand and gets up too.

"You can tell me all about your adventure in Ireland while we'll eat," he says as they make their way downstairs.


	2. Front the Very Front Row

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys, here's the second chapter. You're gonna get to know Pet a little bit better, find out what is it she does back home and stuff like that - just little bit about her background. And also... She's going to meet Ryan's parents so I just wanted to say... I really didn't know what are their names in real life so I just went with Eileen for his mom (don't really know why, I just like it, I guess) and John for his dad (basically 'cause John is Ryan's middle name so I thought it would be appropriate name for his father). So yeah... Anyway, enjoy and I hope you'll like it.

She wokes up pretty early. Though there's already sun light shining through the window. From the very first monent she opened her eyes there's a huge smile on her lips. She's so happy. And not just because after few days she's waking up in a bed in a warm room and not in the middle of a field shaking from the cold. But also because she had so much fun last night. She and Ryan stayed up late, just sitting on a sofa, talking, each with a cup of hot cocoa. They laughed a lot. She just feels so lucky she got a chance to meet him. No regrets about leaving home and going to Ireland. Not anymore.

She gets up from bed and heads to the bathroom.

In a few minutes she's already on her way downstairs. Clock on the kitchen wall shows a couple of minutes after eight. "I guess Ryan's still sleeping," she whispers to herself, "Better start breakfast so it's ready when he wakes up."

After one quick look into the fridge she decides to make egg omelettes with fresh veggie. So she gets to work.

When it's amost done, Larry runs into the kitchen. But just a few steps behind him Ryan follows.

"Good morning, boys," she smiles.

"Morning, Pet. You're up early. Did you sleep well?"

"Really well, thanks. Breakfast is almost ready."

"You made breakfast?"

"Yep. You think I can't cook or what?" she laughs, "Though it might not be as good as yours last night."

"I bet it's better. Sure looks amazing."

"'Kay. Let's hope it tastes as good as it lookes," she says as she starts plating.

Then they sit down to the table and start eating.

"It's really good, darlin'," Ryan says after just the first bite.

"Glad you like it," she smiles. And she has to admit she did a good job.

"So, what you're up to today?" she asks.

"I thought I'd show you the village?"

"Oh, really? That would be awesome. Though I don't wanna waste your time or something."

"C'mon! Really?!" he laughs, "I'd love to spend a day with you."

"Alright then. Thanks."

"No problem. And I really wanna take you to my favorite restaurant for a lunch," he smiles.

"You know, you don't have to do this... I mean... Be so nice to me," she sighs but can't help but smile.

"I know. But... I want to."

She feels her cheeks getting warmer. She would never imagine herself in a situation like this. But yeah... Here she is, having breakfast with Ryan Kelly, talking like they've known each other for years, no big deal... Except it is... a big deal for her. And he actually wants to spent time with her? 'How did this happen?' she wonders but doesn't say a word. Just smiles and they eat quietly, exchange smiles once in a while. Once she would swear he winks at her.

And she knows that eventually it's gonna turn out very badly for her. 'Cause she already feels she's loosing her head and, more importantly, her heart to this man. And it just won't never happen and she's gonna get hurt and heartbroken. But for now... She's just enjoying the moment and having the time of her life.

After maybe fifteen minutes they're both finished with their plates.

"Thank you for an amazing breakfast, Pet," he smiles.

"Least I could do, Ry," she smiles too and takes the plates to put them into the dishwasher.

"So... You're ready to go and explore the village?" he asks as he gets up from his chair.

"Sure thing. Just gonna change really quickly if you won't mind," she looks down on what she's wearing right now - loose tee and comfy shorts, what she slept in, basically. Not a good outfit to go out in, especially if he's taking her to a restaurant for lunch. "What should I wear, anyway?" she asks when it occurs to her that she has no idea what kind of restaurant it's gonna be, "Not that I have a lot of choices," she adds a little bit disappointed. She always loved fashion. She's a fashion blogger after all. But her backpack isn't so big so she had to leave all her good stuff at home. She has a lot of comfy and sporty clothes, but nothing fancy. Which sucks right now.

But Ryan just shrugs: "As far as I'm concerned, you could go out like this and still look perfect to me," he smiles as he points to her clothes.

'Oh, please, stop being so adorable!' goes through her head but of course she can't say it out loud, so she just laughs and says: "Oh, watch it, boy! Or you're gonna regret saying that!"

He laughs at that and she heads upstairs: "Be right back."

When she closes the door of her room behind her, she basically just turns her backpack upside down. And there is a huge pile of T-shirts, shorts, socks, underwear, one pair of ripped jeans, couple of sweatshirts and then she sees IT... The only dress she's packed - black coctail dress. She wore them few times to some blogger's event and everyone loved them. They're actually her favorite because she doesn't have to wear bra with them (and that's always a good thing), well, she actually can't because they leave her whole back uncovered and that doesn't look good with bra. So, yeah, she loves them and she's so glad she's got them with her. Though they could sure use some ironing but well... She just tries to straighten them with her hands as much as she can and that just has to be enough. Then she puts them on and heads to the bathroom where she puts a little bit of make up on and makes her hair up into a simple ponytail. As she's looking at her reflection in the mirror, she has to smile... Since she started blogging and actually did some photoshoots on her own she's learnt to like how she looks. Which was definitely the best thing about her work. And right now she feels really proud of herself.

Then she heads back downstairs. Ryan's waiting on her right by the bottom of the stairs, with his back leaning against the wall, and he's just checking something on his phone.

"I actually totally forgot I've got this dress with me here," she says as she's making her way down the stairs.

He looks up and gasps.

"What do you think?" she asks when she stops in front of him, turns 'round and gives him a flirtatious look over her shoulder.

"Oh my... You look amazing!" he's smiling ear to ear.

"Thank you. They're actually my favorite," she says as they both head for the door.

"Yeah? Well, mine too!"

"I'm glad you like it. At least you won't be embarrassed to be seen with me."

"I would never!" he shakes his head.

"Oh, well... Maybe you will 'cause this dress just doesn't go well... with sneakers," she says as she looks down on the only pair of shoes she's got.

"Oh, c'mon, darlin'! You just look so pretty no matter what, okay?" he gives her a reassuring look.

"'kay," she gives him a cute smile in return and he winks at her. In that moment her heart skips a beat.

Then they put their shoes on and go outside. Ryan locks the door behind them and they're on their way.

It's a nice weather today. Sun's shining, a little breeze is blowing, air is so fresh.

They walk slowly along the street. All the houses are the same or very similar to the one Ryan lives in.

"This looks like an amazing place for living," she says.

"It is. I love it here," he smiles and his expresion just shows how much he really means it. It's just adorable.

"What about the place you come from? What's it like?" he asks.

"Oh, well... I actually grew up in the village too. Or at least it was a village when I was growing up. Later it's become a part of the bigger city but yeah... I've got great memories of my childhood."

"Yeah, there's nothing better than growing up in the village."

"For sure!"

Then they talk about a lot of stuff about their lives. She feels like she adores and respects him more and more with every new thing she knows about him. They walk the streets of The Moy, he shows her the church, the school and all of his favorite places, always tells her memories connected with them and she's just loving every minute.

When it's almost time for lunch, he leads them to a street that looks a lot like the one Ryan lives on. They walk quietly for a bit and then he stops in front of one of the houses: "And we're here. This is my favorite restaurant," he smiles and heads for the front door. She's a little bit confused but follows him.

Before she can ask anything, the front door opens and an older lady with a big smile on her face steps outside. Now Pet is even more confused but doesn't say a word as they approach the lady.

"Hello, darlings, we've been waiting on you," she says in a very lovely voice and her smile is so contagious that Pet's smiling too and doesn't even know why 'cause she's starting to be a little bit nervous about what's going on.

"Hi, mom," Ryan says and kisses her on the cheek. Now Pet's really nervous.

"Mom, this is my friend Petra I've told you about," he says then. 'Oh, god, he even told his mom about me!' goes through Pet's head as she smiles and gives Ryan's mom a shy look.

"And this is my mum Eileen," he continues.

"It's really nice to meet you," Pet manages to say and they shake hands.

"You too, sweetheart. Come in," Eileen says and goes inside, "And please, don't take off your shoes, just come on, the lunch is ready."

"So, does your mom know that you call her house your favorite restaurant?" Pet asks Ryan as they follow Eileen to the dining room.

He laughs: "I think she knows."

"Our guests are here, dear," Eileen calls when they're in the dining room.

"I'm coming," a voice responds and then a tall man comes in.

"Hey dad," Ryan says and Pet can see where he got his looks.

"Hello son," his dad says and they hug each other.

"This is my friend Petra," Ryan says pointing at her.

"Oh, wow, look at you. How beautiful are you!" his dad says with a big smile.

"Thank you, sir," she smiles shyly.

"Oh, please, just call me John," he offers her his hand and she shakes it.

"Alright, everyone," Eileen smiles, "Sit down, I'm gonna be serving."

"Can I help you wih anything?" Pet asks politely.

"Oh no, honey. It's really kind of you but I got it. And you're our guest so just sit, relax and give me a second."

So they sit down and in a minute Eileen is back with some amazingly looking food.

"So, Petra... What a pretty name!" Eileen says when they start eating.

"Thank you," she gives her a thankful smile.

"Has it some tradition in your family?"

"Not really. My older brother actually is like maybe the sixth by his name in the family. But my name was chosen quite randomly, I'd say. Though my mom was named after her mom, my parents just wanted something different for me."

"Yeah... Ryan told us about your parents. We're really sorry about what happened to them. It must have been hard for you to loose them so soon," John says.

"Dad!"

"It's okay, Ry... Thank you, John. It was hard, of course, it was... It's still is. But I'm fine, really. Just try to be happy, I guess."

"Well, you're a really brave young girl, let me tell you that," Eileen smiles.

"Thank you. And by the way... the food is really delicious."

"Oh, thank you so much. Glad you like it."

"I guess, I know now from who Ryan's learnt how to cook," she smiles at Ryan.

"Don't tell me he cooked for you?" Eileen seems surprised.

"He did."

"Then you must be really special. He doesn't cook that often, you know," John laughs and Pet would swear Ryan's cheek just turned red. Which is adorable so she laughs too.

"Thanks dad!" he whispers but smiles.

"So what is it that you do back home, darling?" Eileen asks Pet after that, "Are you still at the university or you're already working?"

"I actually graduated uni a year ago and I'm working now... And like some people," she looks at Ryan, "I do something completely different from what I studied for." And Ryan laughs.

"So what is it?" John asks and Ryan looks curious too 'cause she still hasn't told him either.

"Well... When I was in my first year at uni, I started a blog with my best friend and before I finished my studies it had already become my job. So after my graduation I just continued doing it, simple as that."

"I didn't even know that having a blog could be a job," John wonders.

"There is a lot of amazing things you can do on the Internet these days," she laughs, "Though it was just more of a starting platform for us as we both did a lot of photoshooting and promo events for various fashion brands."

"So it's a fashion blog then?" Ryan asks.

"More or less, yeah. But we did a lot of traveling 'cause of the fashion weeks and other fashion events all over the world so there's a lot of that too. Then we both have different hobbies, I've written a lot about music there and he studied archeology so there's a lot of interesting history stuff too. Like... We're all over the map with that blog. But yeah, fashion is the main thing."

"That sounds amazing, dear," Eileen says.

"So, when you said you did a lot of photoshooting, does it mean you're a model?" John asks then.

And she laughs: "I wouldn't really call myself that but yeah, I have appeared in a few magazines, on a few billboards, walked on a few fashion shows and stuff like that."

"Wow," John says and exchanges a look with Ryan. She doesn't really know what that means so she just ignores it.

"So you did a lot of traveling for work, huh?" Ryan then asks.

She nods: "Yeah. A lot!"

"What is your favorite place you've ever been to, honey?" Eileen asks with a curious smile.

"I think I like Ireland the most," she gives Eileen a big smile in return.

"Oh, that's wonderfull! And... How long will you be staying?"

Pet just shrugs: "I really don't know. There are still some places I wanna see. And I think... I'm not ready to go home yet."

"I see... So... You will be leaving The Moy soon then?"

"I guess," she says and she can feel Ryan's looking at her but she just can't look at him. It hurts her so much that she will have to leave him. But she just knows she can't stay.

"Then you have to promise us you'll come say goodbye before you leave," John smiles.

"I promise," she says and finally finds enough courage to look at Ryan. And that sadness in his eyes just... Kills her.

And Eileen probably notices that 'cause she quickly changes the subject: "So, tell me, sweety, what's the thing you're most proud of in your life?"

Pet thinks for a second: "Well, there's this one moment I'll probably never forget... With my mum."

"Do you wanna tell us?"

"Yeah... So... The thing my mum always wanted the most for me and my brother to have was the best education. After all, she graduated the best collage in the country as a lawyer which was then something she did all her life, so for her, education was everything. So I really did my best at uni just for her to be proud of me even though in the last year of my studies I already knew I'll never gonna use it and by that time I was already working and making money on my own. But... I just hadn't tell my parents about it. I just felt that maybe they would have been disappointed about what I'd decided to do in my life... And I think it was worth it, my mum was so proud of me when I graduated. But then she wanted me to go on with my education for even more years, to get, you know, the best education possible. That's when I told her about the blog, about everything I'd been doing for two years already, and that I didn't want to go to school anymore... And I could see the dissapointment in her eyes. This wasn't the career she wanted for me. But I already made my choice. So I moved away from home and just worked on my dreams. Every time I visited my parents they never asked what I was doing, what I was working on... And that just pushed me to work even harder, to accomplish something big so they could be proud of me like they were of my brother. He went on with his studies to be a scientist so by that time he was definitelly their favorite... After half a year of working 24/7, there was this big blogger's awards event and we were actually nominated in few categories. So I invited my parents and they agreed to go. Even just that was a win for me. So we all went and it was such a big night! There were so many people. And it was the first time my parents were basically forced to see what I'm doing. I did few interviews during the night and I was just having the time of my life 'cause even just to be nominated was a big thing for us. And well... We actually won two awards, for the best fashion blog and best interaction with fans. And it was beyond all my wildest dreams. And when I got back to our table after accepting the second award, my mum was just standing there, crying. Then she gave me the biggest hug she'd ever given me, appologized for not supporting me more and told me she's the proudest mom in the whole world 'cause just seeing me so happy and having all my dreams come true is everything every mom wants to see. And that was the proudest I've ever felt in my whole life and I think I'll never stop being sorry that they left so soon and won't be able to see more of my accomplishments," she finishes and it's quiet for a moment. She's just trying not to cry but feels like she's loosing the battle against the tears. She clears her throat and takes a deep breath which doesn't really help. But out of the blue she's got Ryan's arms around her and he's hugging her so tight like he'd never want to let her go. And she's smiling and feels the tears going away.

"Thanks, Ry," she says when he pulls away.

"Trust me, darlin'! With every accomplishment you will have... They are very proud of you," he says with a big smile.

"Ryan's totally right, sweetheart," Eileen nods, "They're up there with the biggest smiles on their faces, saying 'what an amazing young lady our daughter grew up to be'."

Then, luckily for Pet, they change the subject. They talk about everything and anything that comes to their minds and they're just enjoying themselves. After lunch they have a cup of coffee. This time Eileen accepts Pet's help so they're in the kitchen together, talking, just the two of them.

"You really are an extraordinary young girl, sweety. The things you had to go through... And you still so strong and brave! It just amazes me!" Eileen says.

"Thank you, Eileen... Really! Thank you for all the kind words... Thank you for everything."

"Oh, don't mention it, honey. You know, Ryan cares about you a lot."

"Yeah, he's really kind to me. He's a great friend and such a nice person! You did a good job with him."

"Well, wasn't always easy," she says and they both laugh as they head back to the dining room with coffee they've made.

"Why are you two laughing?" Ryan wonders.

"Just talking 'bout you, dear," Eileen says.

"Mom?! What embarrassing story were you telling this time?" he asks smiling.

"The worst one," Pet says just for fun, just to see his reaction.

"Mom!! Not the one with my Star Wars pyjamas!"

"Oh! My! God!" Pet says, she didn't think it would actually work. But it did! Then she and Eileen start laughing.

"You did this to yourself!" Eileen says when she stops laughing so much.

"What?" Ryan's so confused and it's so cute. He looks at Pet.

"Your mom hasn't actually told me anything," she explains, "But I think I wanna hear this one."

"Oh, God!" Ryan gives up.

Then both, John and Eileen, start telling so many stories from Ryan's childhood. And some of them are just really embarrassing for Ryan but those are the ones Pet loves the most 'cause Ryan's just super adorable when he's blushing.

Around three o'clock Ryan and Pet get up to leave. They say their goodbyes, Pet actually gets a hug from both of Ryan's parents, which makes her really happy. Then they head for the door.

"Just promise us you'll come by again before you leave," Eileen says to Pet.

"I promise! I would never leave without saying goodbye," she smiles.

Then they leave.

"You think I could ask you for one more favor?" she asks Ryan on their way back to his house.

"Of course, darlin'."

"Could I use your computer? I thought I would do a little bit of blogging..."

"Of course you could, Pet," he gives her big smile.

"Thanks."

When they arrive home, she goes to change her clothes and then Ryan takes her to his office. There's a big desk by the window with a computer on it. So she sits down, he shows her everything she needs and then he leaves her to work.

The first thing she does is that she visits the blog. She can see all the things her best friend Tom's posted there while she was away. And it's a lot of things! So many amazing photoshoots and events. She's so proud of him. She couldn't ask for better friend and 'bussiness partner'. The blog's been in good hands. She goes through everything very quickly. And then she comes across her last post. She wrote about everything that happened in her family and that she just needed to take a little break and go to find the new self. She opens the comments below and goes quickly through some of them. There is so many people saying such kind words. She can't believe how amazing fans she's got. And before she can even realise it, she's crying. But she's not sad. Those are the tears of joy... With such an amazing support she feels like she can do it. She can be happy. It's possible. She can deal with everything. She's not alone!

"Hey, honey, just thought you could use a cup of tea," she hears Ryan by the door. He comes in with a mug in one hand. She looks at him and smiles.

"Oh, what happened?" he asks when he notices her tears.

"Nothing... I just realised I'm really happy."

"Yeah? What's led you to that?" he asks as he puts the mug down on the desk.

"I'm just going through some comments under my last blog post. You know... Where I wrote about my parents' accident and that I'm leaving for some time. It's just so amazing how many people actually believe in me and support me."

"Yeah. Support of your fans can lift you up big time," he smiles, "I'm gonna leave you to your work now. Got some work on my own. If you need anything, just ask," he says then.

"'Kay. Thanks, hon'."

Then he leans in and kisses her forehead.

She watches him as he disappears in the hallway and closes the door behind him. Then she gets to work. And it's so good to be working again. She loves every minute.


	3. In Too Deep

**It’s over now, what coulda been, can never be**   
**So I’ll move on, I’ll find a new song, I’ll find a new me**   
  


She is lying on her back in the bed, listening to Celtic Thunder on her phone and thinking about the past week. She can't believe it's already been a whole week since she came to Ryan's house. She enjoyed every day, every minute. Made a lot of great memories which she will treasure for the rest of her life.

But... She's starting realising it's time to move on to explore more places in Ireland. And it's breaking her heart every time she thinks about that. She just doesn't want to say goodbye to Ryan. But sometimes she feels like it's getting little wierd between them. She's not sure why but thinks it's because he just wants her to leave already. And she can't really blame him, he's done so much for her.

She's already made the decision. She's gonna leave tomorrow. And tonight, when they're gonna watch a movie on TV, she's gonna tell him. And she's really nervous about that.

She checks her phone to see what time it is and she realises the movie's gonna start soon. So she turns the music off, gets up from the bed and heads downstairs.

Ryan's in the kitchen: "Hey, Pet. You're ready to watch?" he asks with a smile.

"You bet. How much time 'till it's starting?" she wonders and goes to sit down on a sofa in the living room.

"In ten minutes, I think," he answers and joins her on a sofa.

"Then I think..." she starts but doesn't really know what to say after that.

"What is it?" he asks softly.

"I need to tell you something."

"Then tell me, darlin'," he smiles.

"I think... I'm gonna be leaving tomorrow."

"Oh," is all he says.

"I mean... You've already done so much for me. I feel it's time for me to go and stop wasting your time and eating your food and stuff like that."

"You're not wasting my time, first of all! And... I just... Didn't expect you to be leaving so soon."

"But, Ry... It's been a week... I really think I should go."

"Okay. Just... Wait a second," he says, gets up and disappears in the hall for a while.

"I want you to have something," he says when he gets back. Then he gives her a key. And honestly, she's shocked: "What's that?" she asks even though she thinks she already knows.

"A key to the front door," he says.

"Ry... Are you sure you want me to have it? Have you really thought it through?"

"Yes and yes. I want you to have a place here in Ireland you can go back to when something... Anything happens," he smiles.

And she's at lost of words. So she gives him a hug: "Thank you for everything," she whispers to his ear and as she pulls away, she kisses his cheek.

"You're welcome," he gives her a big smile.

Then they watch the movie.

The next morning she gets up early. She's already packed all her stuff before she went to bed last night so she's ready to leave. She just wants to be gone before Ryan wakes up. She simply can't say goodbye to him. She just can't. She's not that strong.

Even last night when they were just watching TV was so hard for her 'cause she knew it's the last time they're together. She's even thinking about leaving behind the key he gave her. But at the last moment she decides to keep it, just as a memory. Yeah, she already knows she's never coming back. She just can't. It hurts too much to be around Ryan when she knows he'll never be more then just her friend.

So she takes her backpack and leaves the house.

Before she turns around the corner at the end of the street she looks behind for the last time. Then she wipes a tear on her cheek away with one hand and heads for the house of Ryan's parents. She actually wants to keep the promise she gave them. She has to say goodbye, they were so nice to her. And she would feel really awful if she left without actually telling goodbye to anyone.

But it's so early so she prays they're already awake.

In a few minutes she arrives there and knocks on the door. There's no response and she's so sad about that. But when she turns to leave, she can hear the door opens.

She turns back to see Eileen's smiling face: "Oh, darling, what are you doing here so early?" she asks.

"I came to say goodbye. I'm leaving."

"Oh, John's still sleeping. Why are you leaving so early?" she wonders and Pet knows she has to tell her the truth: "I just... I wanted to leave before Ryan wakes up. I'm sorry, Eileen, I am so sorry, but I... I guess I'm not very good at saying goodbyes to some people," she shakes her head. She expects Eileen to tell her how bad and selfish person she is but instead she just smiles and asks her: "Did you eat anything for breakfast?"

Pet just shakes her head again.

"Then you have to come in and let me give you something for your journey. I won't let you leave with empty stomach and no food."

"I would buy something on my way."

"Nonsence! Come on, honey!"

So Pet follows her inside and then into the kitchen.

"So... Let me ask you, sweetheart," Eileen says as she starts looking for some food she could give to Pet, "Ryan told me he's gonna give you a key before you leave. So did he?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to use it some day?" she looks at her and Pet feels like she can see right through her.

"I don't know," she lies.

"Don't you?"

Pet sighs: "I'm not planning to... Look, Eileen, I'm really really sorry. I know it's bad thing to run away like this without even saying goodbye to him... After everything he's done for me. But I just... I already have a lot on my plate. I'm not ready to be heartbroken... Though it's quite late for that, I think."

"Love's not easy, honey. You have to fight for it."

"Yeah? Well, right now I don't have enough strenght in me to fight."

"Trust me, you've got plenty of strenght in you. You're a natural fighter, sweatheart. You just have to realise it. And when you do... Please, use that key," she gives her a smile and Pet nods.

"Alright, darling. This should do," Eileen smiles as she hands her quite huge package filled with food.

"Thank you so much, Eileen, for everything," she says as she puts the food to her backpack.

"You're very welcome."

They head for the door.

"Will you tell goodbye to John for me, please?" Pet asks as she's stepping out from the door.

"Of course I will."

"And tell Ryan I'm sorry."

"I will, honey. Just promise me you'll stay safe."

"I will, Eileen," she smiles. Then she gives her a long hug.

"Take care," Eileen says as Pet's walking away.

"You too," she says, waves at her for the last time, jumps on her longboard and goes down the road.

When she's leaving the village after few minutes, there are tears streaming down her face. She can't see a lot through them but she just can't stop. So she goes on along the road from The Moy. All the memories of the past week are running through her head and she already knows she'll never forget them. Though she doesn't know if it's a good thing or a really really really bad thing.

She heads north. She wants to reach the coast and go along it for some time.

On the second day after leaving The Moy, after a night in a cheap motel by the road, she has to admit it's a good feeling to travel again. There's still so many adventures ahead, so many places to discover, so many people to meet... And she can't wait to see it all.

She has an Irish luck on her side for some time. For few nights she doesn't have to sleep outside. She always finds a motel or a lovely bed&breakfast with nice people in it who are always eager to help and give her advice on where to go next. On one day she even meets a very nice lady who lets her stay at her place, gives her food for a few next days of her journey and even an old jacket she can use as it's quite cold up in the north, especially in the mornings.

So yeah, she's having a great time. And as she's in a good mood, she sends more messages to home, to her grandparents and her brother, telling them where she is and what she's doing. They never call each other, it's just too expensive. Though she doesn't really want to. She would deginitely cry and she doesn't want them to hear that. She misses them. They often ask her when she's coming back home. She still doesn't know. On good days, when she's happy, she feels like maybe she's actually ready to go home. But then the evening comes and she's alone in a quiet motel room and she's crying her eyes out because she misses her parents and now Ryan, too. And she knows she can't go back home yet.

After maybe ten good days there sure has to come a bad one. But she would never expect that she could get so unlucky out of the sudden.

Around the midday, when she's having a little snack, sitting in the grass by the road, enjoying a little bit of music, she notices there's something wrong with one of the wheels of her longboard. She studies it for a moment. "Fuck! This is bad!" she curses for herself, "How come I haven't noticed before?!"

And it's really bad. In her backpack she has a little kit for some possible repairs her longboard could need but it won't be enough for this. She needs to change the whole wheel and she doesn't have any extra ones. So she actually needs to get to the nearest city and she just hopes there'll be any place where she can buy it. But well, the nearest city is still quite far. She knows 'cause she was planning to stay there for the night and she counted on that she would still have a whole afternoon to get there.

And as it happens sometimes, when you have bad luck, you have really really bad luck. So the fact that she's gonna have to go all the way on the longboard with a broken wheel is not enough danger for one day. It was also raining last night and the road is still wet. "Fuck me!"

For a second she thinks about staying where she is and waiting for the road to dry. And in the worst case scenario sleeping outside by the road. After all, she's still got some food left to go by. But then she looks up and sees dark clouds in the sky. It looks like it's gonna start raining any minute now so there's really no point in waiting. So she just has to take a risk. A huge risk.

She puts everything in the backpack and filled with hope that she's not gonna kill herself she carefully steps on the board and slowly starts riding.

After maybe an hour everything is still going quite smoothly. It's still not raining and both, her and the longboard, are still in one piece. So... She does something she's so good at... She makes a mistake. She accelerates. She just wants to reach the city as soon as possible. And the wheel's still holding so... Why not?!

And just after few minutes it happens. She doesn't really know how but in a second she already knows it's gonna end really badly.

It seems like there was a tiny hole or a small rock on the road... But when you're riding on a wet road on a broken longboard, even just a little thing can turn into a huge obsticle.

It happens so quickly. She finds herself flying through the air, then hitting the ground really hard, doing few turn-overs and sliding for a few meters. Something hits her legs, probably the longbord doing a few saults on his own and landing on her.

And she just lays there on her back, not able to move, just looking into the sky.

After few seconds she closes her eyes. She can see Ryan's face smiling at her. Then the whole world disappears.


	4. Broken Things

**So beyond repair**   
**Nothing I could do**   
**Tried to fix it myself, but it was only worse**   
**When I got through**   
**Then you right walked into my darkness**   
**and you speak words so sweet**   
  


She slowly opens her eyes. Her whole body hurts like hell. She growns as she sits up. She finds herself sitting at the edge of the road with a backpack next to her and the longboard with just three wheels lying on her legs. It seems like it's already the morning of the next day.

She touches the back of her head as the pain there is definitelly the worst.

"Oh, God! What am I gonna do?" she wonders.

Then she notices the blood on her ripped jeans and realises that the pain in her left leg might be even worse than her head. Through the hole in her jeans she can see really badly looking and quite deep wound. It's not bleeding anymore, so that's the only good thing.

"C'mon, pull it together! Just try to think!" but her head hurts too much for that. So she just opens her backpack and finds a snickers bar she's got there 'cause she feels a little bit hungry. But after few first bites she's throwing up.

"Oh, this is not good!"

She takes a bottle of water and drink a little. It makes her feel better. Then she pours some water at the wound on her leg and it burns like hell. "Shit!" she curses.

"Stop whining like a bitch and try to get up at least!" so she does.

She's standing now, though she's putting weight only on her right leg 'cause the left one just hurts too much. Everything is spinning around her. She closes her eyes and tries to calm down. And she manages that. When she opens her eyes again, everything is still this time.

"Good! That's a progress."

Then she carefully picks up her backpack and the longboard and tries to walk. It's not easy as her left leg doesn't work exactly like she'd like it to but she knows she can do it. She has to, there's no other way how to get to the city.

She walks and walks and walks. Though she's more limping than actually walking but she goes on, doesn't stop. Her vision is blurry and it feels like eternity. But then she hears a car behind her and it passes her by and actually stops in front of her. For a second she thinks she's dreaming but then a middle aged man gets out from the car and approaches her.

"Are ya okay, darlin'?" he sounds really worried, "Sorry to break it to ya but ya look horrible."

"Yeah. I had a little accident," she says as she shows him her longboard and the place where the forth wheel's supposed to be.

"It must really hurt," he points at her leg.

"Like hell!"

"I can give ya a ride if ya want?"

"Yes, please, that would help a lot... Please don't leave me here to die!" she feels like she's gonna cry. Everything just hurts so much.

He smiles: "Of course I won't leave ya here. C'mon," he says and takes her stuff to put them in the car. Then he helps her get in.

"There's actually a really good hospital in the town ahead. They're gonna take a good care of ya," he says as he gets in too and starts driving.

She shakes her head but everything just starts spinning so she just closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Then she says: "Is there a bus station or something?"

"Yeah... But I can't really see how it's gonna help ya?"

"I really need to go somewhere," since his face was the very last thing she saw before she drifted away, she just knows she needs to get back to Ryan. She needs to see him, hug him, say him how much she misses him. And right now she feels like a fighter. Eileen was right, she needs to fight for love. She fought for everything in her life, how could she have even expected to get love without fighting for it. It was stupid to leave him without even trying to win his heart. But she's ready now. She's ready to do everything that needs to be done. Though she doesn't even know he gives her a second chance but she's willing to try. The risk of getting her heart broken is worth the happiness she could find.

"And where do ya need to go?" the man asks her.

"The small village little down the south. It's called The Moy."

"Really? Well... There's the thing... I happen to be from down there."

"For real?" she asks and looks at him. But just too quickly so everything goes black for a second. She growns.

"Are ya sure ya don't want me to take ya to the hospital? Did ya hit your head?" the man's really concerned.

She nods: "It actually happened yesterday. Next thing I remember is... Waking up in the morning."

"Oh, God! That's it... I'm taking ya to the hospital!"

"No," she whispers. But she feels so weak that she just can't say anything else. Then everything goes black.

 

She's waking up. She hears beeping. She's confused. Then she realises she actually doesn't feel any pain and smiles.

She slowly opens her eyes. Immediately she knows she's in hospital. There's a man standing by her bed, smiling down at her: "Hello, there. Ya scared the crap out of me, darlin'," it's the man who picked her up by the road.

"What happened?" she asks him.

"Ya lost consciousness so I drove ya straight to the hospital. Doctors said ya actually gave yourself pretty bad concussion. And ya were out for two days..."

"What?!" she freaks out.

"Yeah. But they said it's quite normal when ya hit your head that much. Though they also said ya were pretty lucky, ya could have end up really badly."

She thinks for a moment. How could this happen to her? Maybe... She deserves it after what she's done. Out of the sudden she starts crying.

"Hey, hey... It's okay. Ya'll be alright," the man says as he holds her hand.

"I just... I really need to go to see someone," she needs to see Ryan. If nothing else then just to say she's sorry.

"Okay. Well, doctors said that they're gonna need to do some more tests when you wake up and if everything goes well, they will be able to release you. So ya'll be out of here soon, just take it easy."

She nods and smiles a little.

"Good. I'm gonna go and tell them ya're awake, alright?" he smiles too.

She nods again and the man heads for the door.

"Wait a second," she calls after him.

"Yeah?" he stops with one hand on a door handle.

"I don't even know your name."

"Right," he smiles and goes back to her, "Name's Leeroy."

"Nice to meet you, Leeroy. I'm Lily," she smiles and they shake hands. Then he leaves the room. She's alone and all she can do is to think about Ryan. "You're so stupid!" she whispers to herself.

After few tests doctors do, they tell her that they're gonna keep her there for one more night and release her in the morning. She's not really happy about that but then she thinks about what her mom used to say: "Doctors are always right!" she can hear her voice quite clearly. So she agrees to stay.

Leeroy promises her that he's gonna pick her up in the morning and take her to The Moy as he's heading back there too. She can't thank him enough.

She has a peaceful night. When she wakes up in the morning, she doesn't feel any pain, though it's probably because she's still on quite strong pain killers.

When her doctor visits her, she has to promise him she's gonna take it easy for a few days and rest a lot and she's allowed to leave. She just signs few papers, finds a tee and shorts in her backpack, put it on and leaves the room. There's quite huge bandage on her leg and though she's still limping, it doesn't hurt so much anymore. She says goodbye to nurses and picks up some pills in a pharmacy. Then she goes and waits for Leeroy in front of the main entrance.

She doesn't have to wait for a long time.

"Hello, beautiful! How ya feelin'?" he asks with a huge smile when he gets out from the car to help her put her stuff to the trunk.

"Much better. Thank you," she. smiles and they both get in the car. In a few minutes they're leaving the town. They talk for some time but then she says: "Would you mind if I got some sleep. I feel kinda tired."

"Of course. We should be arriving in The Moy in maybe two hours so just tell me where ya want me to take ya and get some rest."

"You can just take me wherever you're going, I'll walk the rest."

"No way, darlin'. Ya can't even walk properly! Where do ya live there?"

"I don't live there. Just visiting a friend."

"Then... Who's your friend?"

"Ryan Kelly."

"See, wasn't so hard to tell," he smiles, "I know where he lives. I'll take ya there."

"Thank you."

"Sure thing! Now get some sleep. I'll wake ya when we're there."

She closes her eyes and falls asleep in a minute. She dreams about Ryan.


	5. Perfect Man

**Lessons there to learn, never play with fire 'cos you'll just get burned.**   
**But can you go through life, never takin' a chance, always doin' what's right?**   
**She's not that type of girl, she could never resist, he blew away her world.**   
  


Leeroy shakes with her gently to wake her up. She opens her eyes and gives him a smile. The car's not moving and with just one look she can see they're in front of Ryan's house.

"How ya feelin'?" Leeroy asks.

"Good," she nods. She's so happy to be here. Though she's also so nervous.

They get out from the car and she takes her stuff from the trunk.

"'Kay... I think I'm gonna leave ya now. Ya're gonna be alright?" he asks.

"Yeah, I think I will. Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it, darlin'. Just remember what doctors said and take it easy, okay?"

"Will do."

"And maybe I'll see ya 'round," he smiles and winks at her.

"Maybe you will," she smiles too and gives him a hug. Then he gets in the car and leaves her there.

She's standing there, looking at the front door. She's so nervous. She has no idea what Ryan's gonna say or do when he sees her. Does he really want to see her again? But... Guess she'll never know unless she goes in.

So she does. Here she is, using the key she's never planned to use.

She steps in and quietly closes the door behind her. When she's taking her shoes off, she notices there's just too many pairs of shoes. And now she's even more nervous 'cause obviously Ryan's not alone. She puts the backpack and longboard down and tries to listen to anything she could hear. But the house seems quiet. Which is wierd so she heads to the kitchen. She seems to be limping more as the effect of pain killers is fading away and the leg hurts again. But she doesn't care about that right now.

She's in the kitchen and there's nobody there or even in the living room. But then she hears voices coming from the backyard. She turns her head in that direction and she freezes. Through the opened glass door she can see George Donaldson sitting in his chair on the porch, drinking wine from a tall glass and watching something on the yard.

She makes a few steps ahead to see what is it he's watching. And there they are. All five boys from Celtic Thunder playing football, or at least trying to play. And then she sees Ryan and her heart does a backflip. She steps a little bit closer to the door again a watches him.

He has the ball and tries to score but then he looses the ball to Colm and almost falls over as he stumbles over his own leg. She has to smile.

"Oh, hello there, can I help you?" she realises George's talking to her and looks at him. She just doesn't know what to say. She knows that all the boys are already looking in her direction though they can't see her as she's still inside.

So she steps out on the porch and even though she knows it's rude she doesn't answer George's question. She just looks at Ryan. She can feel her knees shaking. But she just stands there without a word for what feels like eternity. She's waiting on him to yell at her, to tell her how mad he is at her for leaving and not even saying goodbye, to tell her he doesn't want to see her ever again... But he's just looking at her, almost like he can't believe she's really there.

After few more quiet seconds, he finally speaks: "I though I'll never see you again," he almost whispers.

"I'm sorry," is all she can say without her voice breaking. She can feel tears making their way into her eyes.

But then, before she can even realise it, he's holding her in his arms. She puts her arms around him and hides her face in his neck. And in that moment she feels all her troubles going away, she feels all the strenght he's giving her just with that one hug... She just feels so happy.

"I'm so glad you're back," he whispers into her ear.

"Me too," she replies and smiles. When she pulls away after that she can see he's smiling too. Oh, how much she missed that smile!

For a second they've got eyes just for each other, but then Neil brings them back to reality: "Hey, Ryan! You're gonna introduce us or what?" he laughs.

"Yeah, right. Of course!" Ryan laughs too, "Guys, this is Petra. Pet, this is Neil, Keith, Emmet, Colm and George's over there."

"Nice to meet you, guys," she says and smiles 'cause it's kinda funny how they think she didn't know their names.

"So what's up with the leg?" Keith asks right away. And that's the moment Ryan actually notices the bandage on her leg. He was so surprised she's there that he just didn't see it.

"Oh my god, what happened?" he asks with fear in his voice.

"Yeah, I had a little accident."

"God! Honey! C'mon, let's sit and you're gonna tell me everything!" he says and they all sit down in the chairs on the porch.

"So, yeah... Happened like maybe three days ago," she starts.

"You don't know when it happened?" Keith asks.

"Well, it's all still quite blurry. And apparently I was out for two days or something... In the hospital."

"Are you kiddin' me, Pet?" Ryan looks really terrified.

"Nope... Doctors said I gave myself a pretty bad concussion but still was lucky it was just that."

"Oh, no way! What the hell happened?"

She hates herself for worrying him so much: "Yeah, so... Totally my fault... My freaking longboard, or one wheel in particular, just broke. It was totally screwed up and I just didn't notice soon enough. So... I noticed when I was basically in the middle of nowhere and of course I didn't have any extra wheel to change it so I had to go to the nearest city, which wasn't really near, and road was wet 'cause it had been raining. So, yeah, I had really bad luck. And I was also so stupid to go really fast... And ended up hitting the ground with my head... Next thing I remember is waking up next morning, lying on the road with bloody jeans and huge headache."

"You joking, right?" Ryan asks, he's definitely shocked.

"I wish I was, Ry."

"So you walked all the way to the nearest hospital? With your leg bleeding?" George asks and seems as shocked as Ryan.

She shakes her head: "Luckily I didn't have to. I mean... I walked for some time. Don't really know how long, sure felt like eternity. And then there was a car passing by. And it actually stopped and the driver, Leeroy, was so kind to give me a ride. I have a feeling that I actually asked him not to leave me there to die... Anyway... I blacked out again in the car and woke up in the hospital. Leeroy was there, told me I was out for two days, told me what the doctors had said and the next morning when they released me he took me back over here as he comes from The Moy himself and was on his way back home. So I'm here."

It's quiet. Ryan tilts his head and closes his eyes. She puts one hand on his shoulder: "I'm sorry."

"It's okay, darling," he says and puts his hand over hers, "I'm just really glad you're okay," then he hugs her tightly.

"Well, you and me both," she whispers and he laughs.

"So did the doctors give you some pills or something?" he asks when he pulls away.

She nods: "I've got a lot of pain killers. And I should really take some, the leg's killing me again."

"What happened to your leg anyway?"

"My longboard fell on it."

"That's what I call bad luck," Keith laughs.

"Yeah, lucky me," she laughs too.

"I get the pain killers for you. Where are they?" Ryan says.

"In my backpack. Left it in the hall."

"Okay. Be right back," he kisses her to her hair as he gets up.

"You know, we're actually here 'cause Ryan's mum called us and asked us to come?" George says to her when Ryan disappears inside the house, "She said he can't be alone now and needs his friends around... Nobody told us what happened but I think we know now," he gives her a little smile but she actually feels horrible after his words.

"What an awful thing to say, George!" Keith laughs like he'd know how George's words made her feel, "Don't think about it, girl! The important thing is that you're here now... In one piece," he says then and she laughs.

Ryan gets back with her pills and glass of water.

"Thanks, hon'," she says, swallows one pill and drinks a little bit of water.

"So... You ride a longboard, huh?" Keith asks and she knows that it's the thing they have in common. She nods.

"You should be more carefull with it, though," Ryan says.

"Yeah, I guess I should. I was never really good in sports... But that never stopped me from doing them," she laughs, "This wasn't my first accident."

"So what else you've been through?" Keith asks.

"Well... Once I put myself in the hospital after a crazy ride on my snowboard, then there were few broken bones after doing stupid stuff on my bike and once... And it's definitely the stupidest think I've ever done... I got drunk and a friend dared me to ride down the nearby hill on a skateboard and I got hit by a car," she laughs.

Ryan looks like he's gonna get a heart attack but Keith just laughs with her: "Lucky you were drunk!"

"I know, right?! When you're drunk, you're basically immortal!"

"Oh, honey! You're crazy!" Ryan says seriously but she can see that he's actually trying so hard not to laugh too.

"I am not! It was actually my eighteenth birthday so it was the first time I could be drinking without being worried about getting caught. And I've got crazy friends. And now, because of that super cool scar on my back I'll never forget that crazy party and all the fun we had."

And Keith laughs again: "Oh, girl, I like you already!" And she laughs with him and everyone else too, even Ryan.

"Where do you come from anyway?" Keith asks then.

"Czech Republic," she answers and they seem surprised.

"So when did you move to Ireland?" George asks.

"I didn't exactly move here. I just packed my backpack, took my longboard and went for an adventure. One and a half month and still counting."

"Oh, please be my friend!" Keith says and she winks at him and laughs.

"That's crazy," George says, "What about your parents. Don't they miss you or something?"

She can see that Ryan seems worried about her reaction but she manages to stay calm: "Well, don't know about that... They died like... What's the date today?" she asks and turns to Ryan.

"24th July, honey," he gives her a little smile.

"Okay... That means two things. First, tomorrow it's gonna be exactly two months since they died. And second, yesterday was my brother's birthday and I didn't text him, so... I need to do that asap."

"Do you want me to go get your phone, darling?" Ryan asks, he's obviously happy she's not crying or anything like that.

"Oh, that would be so kind of you, hon'," she gives him a thankful smile.

"'Kay," he nods with a smile and gets up to get it for her.

"I'm really sorry about your parents," George says.

"Thank you," she smiles. She's actually proud of herself for handling it so well.

When Ryan gets back with her phone, she quickly sends a message to her brother wishing him happy b-day and saying she's okay and how much she loves him and misses him.

"How old is your brother?" Ryan asks when she puts her phone on the table after sendind the text.

"He's just turned 24. Oh, god... That means I'm gonna be 23 in six days! I'm so old!"

"Yeah! You're so old!" George says and everyone laughs.

"So you've got birthday next week?" Ryan asks.

She nods.

"So... You think you're gonna celebrate it here with me?" he gives her a big smile and a look filled with hope.

"I think I will," she smiles too, leans in to kiss him on the cheek and then puts her head on his shoulder. Her eyes meet with Keith's and he smiles and gives her a little nod.

Then they start talking about all the stuff they can think of. Boys ask Pet about her home, her friends, her work and her journey in Ireland. Then they're talking about music, movies, books... Just about everything.

When it's getting dark, boys start drinking. She can't because of the pain killers but she's still having a great time. She and Keith actually talk alone, just the two of them, for a while and they really have a lot of things in common. But she gets along with all the boys.

When it's around ten o'clock and Keith, Colm and Emmet are just doing stupid stuff with the football in the yard, she turns to Ryan: "Ry, I'm really tired. I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"Sure thing, darlin'," he smiles, "I'll help you get there."

She laughs: "Okay. Thanks."

Then she says goodnight to the boys and gets inside the house. Ryan follows her.

He helps her get up the stairs and he also takes her backpack from the hall.

The room looks exactly like she left it. She goes to sit at the bed as he puts the backpack down in front of her.

"Pet, there's something I wanted to tell you... But if you're tired it can wait till the morning."

"It's alright, hon'. Tell me now," she smiles and pats the bed next to her.

He laughs and sits down: "Okay. I just... I guess I should have told you sooner... I should have never let you go. This would have never happened," he looks at her leg.

"That accident is not your fault."

"Yeah, I know... But I still feel really bad about it," he says and looks deeply into her eyes.

"There's no reason for that, Ry!" she whispers. She can feel his hand on her back. And he's so close! She almost forgets how to breath...

"I don't want you to leave... Ever again!" he says in his beautiful silky voice and she can feel her heart racing in her chest.

"Then I won't," is all she can say. And he smiles. Then he reaches his hand and gently runs his thumb across her cheek. She closes her eyes for a second and leans into his touch.

When she opens her eyes again, he's even closer. He's smiling and she just has to smile too. For a while they're just lost in each others eyes. Then he leans in and brushes his lips against hers. She can feel wave of excitement rushing through her whole body. She closes her eyes and gently kisses his bottom lip. She can feel his hand in her hair at the back of her head. With the second hand he pulls her closer and then he deepens the kiss. She really likes the way his lips taste. She puts one arm around his waist. She can feel his heartbeat.

She smiles into the kiss and then she pulls away. He seems so happy and that just makes her beam with pride. With fingertips of her hand she touches his thigh and she bites on her bottom lip.

"If you keep doing it, I'm gonna have to kiss you again," he says looking at her lips.

"Maybe I want you to kiss me again," she smiles.

So he kisses her again.


	6. Your Time

She wakes up and first thing she feels is the pain. She growns and sits up. She puts the blanket away and looks at her leg. She can see blood underneath the bandage. "Fuck!" she sighs and tries to get up to get the pain killers from her backpack. She almost falls down as she puts weight on the wounded leg. When she gets her balance back she basically jumps on her right leg to get to the backpack. Then she swallows two pills at once and carefully heads to the bathroom. She needs to take a shower.  
She sits down on the edge of the bathtub and starts taking off the bandage. She remembers the doctors saying she can actually take it off soon. Though they didn't say what she should do if it starts bleeding again.  
"Fuck!" she says again when she sees the wound. It actually looks even worse than she remembers. She's a little bit surprised the doctors didn't put a few stitches on that. It looks really deep.  
She sighs and gets in the bathtub and starts taking a shower. Though she's really carefull, a little bit of soap gets into the wound and for a second she's worried she's gonna faint from the pain. She quickly washes the soap away and stops the water. She sits there for a while, hoping the pain stops, but it's pointless. So she gets out from the bathtub, which is not easy, but she manages that somehow. After she dries herself, she puts the clean clothes on and heads back to her bed. She just needs to lay down for a second, she feels really weak. And she knows she wouldn't make it downstairs without help and as it's quite early, Ryan's probably still sleeping. So there's really nothing else she can do.  
She lays down on her back and closes her eyes.  
She doesn't really know for how long she's like that as the only thing she can think of is the pain but after some time there's a knock on the door.  
"Come in," she says but doesn't move.  
"Mornin', Pet," she can hear Ryan's voice so she opens her eyes and looks at him. He notices her leg right away: "God!" she hears him whisper.  
She sits up and gives him a little smile. He goes to sit down on the edge of the bed: "You think it was a good idea to take the bandage off?" he asks.  
"Doctors said I can take it off soon and I really needed a shower. Though... It hurts so bad!"  
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you take a pill?"  
"I took two actually. Didn't really help."  
He gives her a sympathetic look: "Do you want me to bring you something to eat?"  
She shakes her head: "I'm not really hungry. I could use a cup of coffee... But I think I can manage to get downstairs if you help me a bit," she smiles.  
"Sure!" he nods and before he gets up, he gently kisses her lips.  
She gives him a big smile and he helps her get up. Then they head downstairs. As Ryan's helping her, she doesn't have to step on the wounded leg at all so they manage to get down the stairs quite smoothly.  
They head to the kitchen and she can see all the boys are already awake. They're sitting at the porch, talking and enjoying morning tea.  
"Morning, guys," she smiles as she and Ryan steps out on the porch. As they say their good mornings to her, she sits down in one chair and sighs in relieve.  
"I'll get you a cup of coffee, darlin'," Ryan smiles down at her.  
"Thanks, babe," she says and can see how he lights up when she called him like that. She does a mental note to do that more often.  
"Oh, boy! That must hurt!" Neil says then, looking at her leg.  
"Oh, you have no idea!" she shakes her head and feels that the pain might have gotten even worse.  
Ryan gets back right away, puts a cup of coffee in front of her and sits down in the chair next to her with his own cup of tea.  
"How come nobody in Ireland drinks coffee in the morning?" she asks smiling.  
"'Cause it's weird," Keith says and laughs.  
"It is not!" she laughs too, "You know how that saying goes 'no risk, no gain'? For me it's more like 'no caffeine, no gain'!"  
They laugh at that.  
Before they can even stop laughing, there's a sound of the doorbell coming from inside the house.  
"Excuse me," Ryan says and gets up to go to see who's that.  
"How's your head doin', girl?" Keith asks Pet when Ryan disappears inside.  
"Good," she smiles, "Definitely better than the leg."  
"That's good, I'd say," he laughs but before she can say anything, she hears a familiar voice behind her: "I had to come to see her. Leeroy told me everything. Is she alright?"  
"She will be, mum," Ryan says.  
Pet turns her head to see Eileen giving her a worried look.  
"Hi, Eileen," she says with a big smile as Eileen steps out on the porch. She's so happy to see Eileen again.  
"Oh, hello, baby girl," Eileen says and gives her a hug, "I'm so glad you're back."  
"Me too, Eileen!" she smiles as Eileen pulls away and sits down in the chair next to her. Ryan just shrugs and goes to sit in another empty chair which makes boys laugh.  
"What about the promise you gave me? That you'll stay safe!" Eileen looks at Pet with a little bit of anger in her eyes.  
"Well... I really tried," Pet shrugs and she actually feels really bad.  
"Oh, God, honey... This must hurt," Eileen whispers when she sees Pet's leg.  
"It does. But it's gonna be okay, don't worry," she smiles.  
"What about your head? You feel nauseous or anything?"  
"No," she shakes her head, "My head's really fine."  
"Well, Leeroy told me what the doctors said so you're gonna take it easy for a few days, okay?!" though it's not really a question. Pet just nods. "Alright. Ryan, you're gonna make sure she'll get enough rest, you understand?" she turns to her son.  
"Of course, mum," he nods with a smile.  
"I'll be checking up on you to see how you're doing," she smiles back at Pet, "Don't worry, darlin'. We'll take care of you here!"  
And Pet just nods with a smile again because she doesn't really know what to say to that.

"Okay. I need to get going now. I have some errands in the town but I'll stop by later to check up on you, okay?" she gives Pet a kind smile.  
"Alright," she smiles back, "It was really good to see you again."  
"Oh, you too, darling," she says and gives her a hug. Then she gets up from the chair and leaves. Ryan walks her to the front door and while he's gone, Keith gives Pet a wierd look.  
"What?" she wonders.  
"Well... Seems like you're already a part of the family!" he smiles.  
"Oh, shut up, you!" she laughs.  
But she has to admit she feels really welcomed here, almost like she'd find a second home here. The home where nothing's missing and nobody mourns. And it feels so good. It just feels right.


	7. Not Far Apart

She wakes up and first thing she feels is the pain. She growns and sits up. She puts the blanket away and looks at her leg. She can see blood underneath the bandage. "Fuck!" she sighs and tries to get up to get the pain killers from her backpack. She almost falls down as she puts weight on the wounded leg. When she gets her balance back she basically jumps on her right leg to get to the backpack. Then she swallows two pills at once and carefully heads to the bathroom. She needs to take a shower.  
She sits down on the edge of the bathtub and starts taking off the bandage. She remembers the doctors saying she can actually take it off soon. Though they didn't say what she should do if it starts bleeding again.  
"Fuck!" she says again when she sees the wound. It actually looks even worse than she remembers. She's a little bit surprised the doctors didn't put a few stitches on that. It looks really deep.  
She sighs and gets in the bathtub and starts taking a shower. Though she's really carefull, a little bit of soap gets into the wound and for a second she's worried she's gonna faint from the pain. She quickly washes the soap away and stops the water. She sits there for a while, hoping the pain stops, but it's pointless. So she gets out from the bathtub, which is not easy, but she manages that somehow. After she dries herself, she puts the clean clothes on and heads back to her bed. She just needs to lay down for a second, she feels really weak. And she knows she wouldn't make it downstairs without help and as it's quite early, Ryan's probably still sleeping. So there's really nothing else she can do.  
She lays down on her back and closes her eyes.  
She doesn't really know for how long she's like that as the only thing she can think of is the pain but after some time there's a knock on the door.  
"Come in," she says but doesn't move.  
"Mornin', Pet," she can hear Ryan's voice so she opens her eyes and looks at him. He notices her leg right away: "God!" she hears him whisper.  
She sits up and gives him a little smile. He goes to sit down on the edge of the bed: "You think it was a good idea to take the bandage off?" he asks.  
"Doctors said I can take it off soon and I really needed a shower. Though... It hurts so bad!"  
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry to hear that. Did you take a pill?"  
"I took two actually. Didn't really help."  
He gives her a sympathetic look: "Do you want me to bring you something to eat?"  
She shakes her head: "I'm not really hungry. I could use a cup of coffee... But I think I can manage to get downstairs if you help me a bit," she smiles.  
"Sure!" he nods and before he gets up, he gently kisses her lips.  
She gives him a big smile and he helps her get up. Then they head downstairs. As Ryan's helping her, she doesn't have to step on the wounded leg at all so they manage to get down the stairs quite smoothly.  
They head to the kitchen and she can see all the boys are already awake. They're sitting at the porch, talking and enjoying morning tea.  
"Morning, guys," she smiles as she and Ryan steps out on the porch. As they say their good mornings to her, she sits down in one chair and sighs in relieve.  
"I'll get you a cup of coffee, darlin'," Ryan smiles down at her.  
"Thanks, babe," she says and can see how he lights up when she called him like that. She does a mental note to do that more often.  
"Oh, boy! That must hurt!" Neil says then, looking at her leg.  
"Oh, you have no idea!" she shakes her head and feels that the pain might have gotten even worse.  
Ryan gets back right away, puts a cup of coffee in front of her and sits down in the chair next to her with his own cup of tea.  
"How come nobody in Ireland drinks coffee in the morning?" she asks smiling.  
"'Cause it's weird," Keith says and laughs.  
"It is not!" she laughs too, "You know how that saying goes 'no risk, no gain'? For me it's more like 'no caffeine, no gain'!"  
They laugh at that.  
Before they can even stop laughing, there's a sound of the doorbell coming from inside the house.  
"Excuse me," Ryan says and gets up to go to see who's that.  
"How's your head doin', girl?" Keith asks Pet when Ryan disappears inside.  
"Good," she smiles, "Definitely better than the leg."  
"That's good, I'd say," he laughs but before she can say anything, she hears a familiar voice behind her: "I had to come to see her. Leeroy told me everything. Is she alright?"  
"She will be, mum," Ryan says.  
Pet turns her head to see Eileen giving her a worried look.  
"Hi, Eileen," she says with a big smile as Eileen steps out on the porch. She's so happy to see Eileen again.  
"Oh, hello, baby girl," Eileen says and gives her a hug, "I'm so glad you're back."  
"Me too, Eileen!" she smiles as Eileen pulls away and sits down in the chair next to her. Ryan just shrugs and goes to sit in another empty chair which makes boys laugh.  
"What about the promise you gave me? That you'll stay safe!" Eileen looks at Pet with a little bit of anger in her eyes.  
"Well... I really tried," Pet shrugs and she actually feels really bad.  
"Oh, God, honey... This must hurt," Eileen whispers when she sees Pet's leg.  
"It does. But it's gonna be okay, don't worry," she smiles.  
"What about your head? You feel nauseous or anything?"  
"No," she shakes her head, "My head's really fine."  
"Well, Leeroy told me what the doctors said so you're gonna take it easy for a few days, okay?!" though it's not really a question. Pet just nods. "Alright. Ryan, you're gonna make sure she'll get enough rest, you understand?" she turns to her son.  
"Of course, mum," he nods with a smile.  
"I'll be checking up on you to see how you're doing," she smiles back at Pet, "Don't worry, darlin'. We'll take care of you here!"  
And Pet just nods with a smile again because she doesn't really know what to say to that.

"Okay. I need to get going now. I have some errands in the town but I'll stop by later to check up on you, okay?" she gives Pet a kind smile.  
"Alright," she smiles back, "It was really good to see you again."  
"Oh, you too, darling," she says and gives her a hug. Then she gets up from the chair and leaves. Ryan walks her to the front door and while he's gone, Keith gives Pet a wierd look.  
"What?" she wonders.  
"Well... Seems like you're already a part of the family!" he smiles.  
"Oh, shut up, you!" she laughs.  
But she has to admit she feels really welcomed here, almost like she'd find a second home here. The home where nothing's missing and nobody mourns. And it feels so good. It just feels right.


	8. Make You Proud

**I want you here beside me**   
**I want you near me where 'ere I go**   
**I want you with me every step of the way.**   
**I'd be nothing without you**   
  


They've been talking for almost two hours when she realises she should really get going so Ryan wouldn't worry about her. She tells Leeroy and he nods: "Just one last thing... I insist on walking ya home," he smiles.  
"Well, if you insist..." she shrugs and they both laugh.

"Can I see you again? You know... To talk," she asks when they're walking along the street in direction of Ryan's house.  
"Of course, sweetheart, ya know where to find me," he winks at her and she chuckles.  
"And thank you so much, Lee, really. For everything," she says after a silent moment.  
"Oh, don't mention it. I'm happy to help. Ya're a sweet girl," he smiles, "How are ya feeling?"  
"Good. Really good. You were right, talking about it really helps."  
"Glad to hear it," he nods.  
"But it's also kinda exhausting. Or it might have been the panic attack, I'm not sure. I just feel..."  
"Overwhelmed?"   
"Yeah, that's the right word," she smiles.  
"Don't worry. It gets easier."  
"I hope so."  
They arrive to the house and it's time to say goodbye.  
"Okay, I'll see you soon, then?" she gives him a look filled with hope.   
"Of course," he replies with a reassuring smile.  
And out of the sudden she has her arms around him, hugging him tight, because she feels like words aren't enough to express how grateful she is to him. He hesitates for a second but then puts his arms around her too, smiling into her hair.  
"Thanks, Lee," she whispers and kisses his cheek as she pulls away.  
"No problem," he smiles, "Take it easy, okay?"  
"Okay! See you soon."  
"See ya, Lil'bun," he winks at her and she laughs as she turns and heads for the front door, realising he still thinks her real name is Lily. But how can she tell him the truth after what he just called her.  
She comes inside the house and closes the door behind her. The house seems quiet. She heads to the kitchen to find Ryan there making tea for the boys who are sitting at the porch, talking.  
"Hey, Ry," she says quietly. She's almost too tired to talk.  
"Hello, there, sugar," he smiles when he sees her.  
"Oh, babe, can I get a hug, please?" she gives him almost desperate look as she feels that it's exactly what she needs right now.  
"Of course," he says softly and goes to wraps his arms around her. She hides herself in his arms and feels like everything is floating away. She feels so calm, so safe, so at peace, like the whole world would just disappear for a moment - that short moment as he holds her tight.   
She puts her head on his shoulder and breaths in the smell of his cologne.   
All's good now.  
"What's going on, honey? Is everything alright?" he asks as he strokes her hair with one hand.  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just... A little overwhelmed by everything me and Lee talked about. It's still a bit too much for me to deal with, to understand, you know."  
"Oh... Mom thought it would be good if you two talked. I'm sorry she got you into that."  
"No, it was really helpful. Talking helps... Doesn't mean it's easy though. It's hard... And exhausting... And overwhelming. Lee is amazing. He helped a lot, really... I have to thank your mom, next time I'll see her," she smiles.   
"I'm glad to hear he helped you. He's really an amazing guy."  
"He is. I wish... One day... I would be as... At peace with everything that's happened as he is."  
"You will, Pet, you will. I really believe it... I believe in you," he whispers and she smiles.  
"He told me," she says and lifts her head to look him in the eyes, "That he believes everything happens for a reason. But... I..." her voice breaks even though she tries so hard to keep it strong, "I still don't get it... Why it's happened to me."  
"I know," he says, running one thumb across her cheek, "It must be hard to understand. But you're not alone. You have us, we're gonna help you. You have my word. And... Time heals," he smiles.  
"Yeah, you're probably right," she sighs and he kisses her forehead.  
"Now, come on, I'm making tea. Go join the guys, I'll bring a cup for you too."  
"Thank you, babe," she whispers and standing up on her tiptoes she takes his face in her hands and kisses his lips gently. He smiles into the kiss and pulls her even closer by her waist. She feels butterflies in her stomach. Tingling sensation goes through her whole body as he deepens the kiss. Her hand slides into Ryan's hair at the back of his head and as she slowly licks his bottom lip, he moans quietly.  
"Oh, get a room, ya two!" comes from the door to the backyard and she break the kiss to laugh as Keith walks into the kitchen. She bites on her bottom lip, looking into Ryan's eyes. She can see a mix of desire and frustration in them and she worries for a second she's gonna go crazy. He's just so adorable... And hot - with his messy dark hair, angel-like blue eyes filled with devotion and a little smirk on his lips.   
She steps away from him a little bit and looks at Keith who's obviously quite amused: "I came to ask if ya need any help, lad, but I can see ya have all the help ya need," he laughs and winks at Pet. She just shakes her head and laughs with him, thinking what a dork he is. But ultimately she just adores him.   
"I'm managing just fine, yes, Keith, thank ya!" Ryan laughs too, "Just go back out there. I'll bring everything in just a second."  
"Kay, boss," he says with a little smirk and heads back to the porch. Pet follows him and as she's passing Ryan, she kisses his cheek.  
"How're ya doing, darlin'?" George asks her with a kind smile when she and Keith sits down.  
"Good, just a bit tired," she smiles back at him.  
"Shopping can be tiring sometimes, I get that," George laughs.  
And then, when Ryan brings them tea, they talk just about everything. She relaxes a bit, holding Ryan's hand.  
And yeah, all's good now.


	9. To Someone You’re the World, part I

And so it came.   
At last.  
Her birthday.  
As she's waking up and slowly opens her eyes, right away she can see a little wooden tray at the other side of the bed.   
"Oh, no way! I've never got a breakfast in bed," she smiles as she sits up on the bed, careful not to spill coffee that's on the tray along with a plate of pancakes with maple syrup and some berries. There's also a few birthday cards but before she pays more attention to them, her eyes trail to a nigh stand where she can see a tall vase with a bunch of beautiful red and white roses.  
"Oh my god, am I still sleeping and dreaming?" she breaths out and pinches herself, just to be sure, "Nope, not a dream. This is really happening," she whispers and grabs the mug to take a sip of her coffee. Then she looks at the cards on the tray.   
The first one is plain white with a few words on the front page: "When life hands you lemons, find someone who has gin," she reads out loud and laughs. It just has Keith written all over it. But when she opens it, she realises there are actually birthday wishes from all the boys. And immediately there's a huge happy smile on her lips, though she can feel tears forming in her eyes. She still can't believe that all of this is happening to her. She feels so lucky. As she reads all the wishes, few tears come down her cheeks. In an attempt to stop crying, she takes a few bites of the pancakes, before opening the next card. They are delicious.  
The second card has a picture of pug puppy on the front page with a word bubble saying 'Birthday kisses for you'. She opens it: "My daddy really, really, really likes you. Larry," she reads. And there's a paw print. "Awwww, this is so damn cute!"  
And then there's the last one. With a few roses and hearts, saying 'Have the sweetest birthday, my sweetheart'.  
She opens it and reads: "You are the sweetest, bravest, kindest, the most beautiful, the most amazing person I've ever met and nothing's gonna change that. No matter what's gonna come next, I'll be there for you, standing proudly by your side, holding your hand, offering the shoulder to lean on. I'll carry you over any obstacle in your path, I'll support any and every one of your decisions, I'll always be there to give you words of encouragement and support whenever you'll need. You'll always come first. You deserve all the happiness and love in the world and I'll be there to give it to you. Always! You are perfect to me. Happy birthday, sugar. Ryan."  
And how can she not cry after reading this?!  
There's knock on the door. She quickly dries her eyes and cheeks before saying: "Come in."  
The door opens and Ryan's face appears there: "Morning, sugar," he gives her a cute smile as he makes his way to her bed.  
"Morning, babe," she smiles back at him.  
He sits down on the edge of the bed: "Were you crying?" he asks, looking concerned and running his thumb across her cheek that's still a bit wet.  
She sighs: "Well, you know me, I cry all the time."  
"That is not true!" he smiles, "What's wrong?"  
She shakes her head: "Nothing. Everything's perfect… THIS is perfect," she says, pointing at his birthday card.  
"I meant every word, you know."  
She smiles: "Thank you," she whispers and leans in to kiss his lips, "You didn't have to do any of this, you know?!" she says then.  
"I know. But I wanted to... You deserve to be spoiled," he winks at her and she laughs: "Well, this was officially the first time I got a breakfast in bed."  
"Oh, no way! I'm gonna do it more often then," he laughs and kisses her again.

She takes a quick shower, puts some make up on and makes a loosen side braid from her hair. Then she puts on a new dress she bough when she was shopping with Eileen - airy, light, baby blue, with a lace trim just above her knees.   
As she's making her way downstairs, she can already hear boys talking. She finds all of the sitting by a dining table, still eating breakfast.  
"Morning, lads," she says with a smile.  
They greet her in unison.   
The first one to get up is Keith: "Happy birthday, las!" he says, hugging her tight, lifting her from the floor for a second.  
"Thank you!" she laughs.  
Then she gets a hug and a kiss on the cheek from all the boys and she can't even express how happy and grateful she is.


End file.
